1. Technical Field
This invention relates to installation tools and, more particularly, to an installation tool for interlocking grooved flooring panels.
2. Prior Art
It is wide-spread, conventional practice to construct buildings of many types and sizes with board sub-floors fixed in diagonal or perpendicular traversing relation to the usual floor joists and to subsequently complete the desired finish floor by means of matched boards, generally edge tongued and grooved, laid over and secured to the sub-floor. A factor of consequence in the development of high quality finish floors is the close, intimate edge matching of adjacent boards for the elimination of open cracks and seams. The practical control of said factor is aggravated by irregularities and inequalities inevitably characterizing the boards to be matched as a consequence of warping, twisting, and inaccurate milling, hence pointing to the desirability of means employable during laying of the finish floor to pressure-urge and clamp together the edges of the successively-laid boards as the same are positioned upon and nailed to the sub-floor.
Recently, a new form of flooring has been introduced to the United States known in layman's terms as laminate flooring. Such flooring consists of a rigid floor covering with a surface layer consisting of one or more thin sheets of a fibrous material (usually paper), impregnated with aminoplastic thermosetting resins (usually melamine). These sheets are either pressed as such (HPL or CPL, Compact), and in the case of HPL or CPL bonded on a substrate, or in the case of DPL directly pressed on a substrate. The product is normally finished with a backing primarily used as a balancing material. One advantage that such laminate flooring has over conventional hardwood flooring is the elimination of the need to nail, or otherwise affix, the floor finish to the sub-floor. Thus, installation is both less expensive and more expedient than it is for conventional wood floors.
Although the reasons are not the same as they are for hardwood flooring, there is also a need for ensuring that the separate strips or panels of laminate flooring are packed together as tightly as possible during installation. Now, there are a number of prior art apparatuses that are effectively used with hardwood floors for applying pressure to a newly added panel of flooring prior to being affixed to a previously laid panel of flooring. Unfortunately, these apparatuses are not suitable in use with laminate flooring due to angle at which the separate panels must ideally be engaged to ensure a gap-free and tight fit therebetween.
Accordingly, a need remains for an installation tool for interlocking grooved flooring panels in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an installation tool that is easy and convenient to use, durable and efficient in design, and greatly reduces the amount of time and labor that is necessary for installing laminate flooring. The angular surface of the present apparatus enables grooved laminated flooring strips of this configuration to be engaged at an optimal angle. This helps to prevent damage to the laminate flooring strips during installation and helps to ensure strong, secure joints between the individual pieces. The apparatus also enables a single person to successfully install this type of flooring, where usually more than one individual is needed.